Movies like Three Kingdoms: Starlit Heroes (2025)
The best movies like Three Kingdoms: Starlit Heroes (2025) are Ethel & Ernest (2016), The Scarlet and the Black (1983) and Youth (2017). If Three Kingdoms: Starlit Heroes hooked you with its drama and history, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedHero (2002)7.5/10 from 2,643 votes
- NewestThree Kingdoms: The Beginning (2026)Released 2026
- In ChineseYouth (2017)Also in Chinese
Ethel & Ernest (2016)
This hand drawn animated film, based on the award winning graphic novel by Raymond Briggs, is an intimate and affectionate depiction of the life and times of his parents, two ordinary Londoners living through extraordinary events.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Scarlet and the Black (1983)
Fr. Hugh O'Flaherty is a Vatican official in 1943-45 who has been hiding downed pilots, escaped prisoners of war, and Italian resistance families. His activities become so large that the Nazis decide to assassinate him the next time he leaves the Vatican.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisYouth (2017)
A group of performing art troupe members each face their own trials and tribulations in Chengdu; from escaping a family scandal to dealing with unrequited love, each experiences rejection that shapes their lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Last Rifleman (2023)
A WWII veteran escapes his care home in Northern Ireland and embarks on an arduous but inspirational journey to France to attend the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings, finding the courage to face the ghosts of his past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFlyboys (2006)
The adventures of the Lafayette Escadrille, young Americans who volunteered for the French military before the U.S. entered World War I, and became the country's first fighter pilots.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe War Below (2021)
During World War I, a group of British miners are recruited to tunnel underneath no man's land and set bombs from below the German front in hopes of breaking the deadly stalemate of the Battle of Messines.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGezhi Town (2025)
A group of Chinese refugees and straggler soldiers, led by a machinist, defend their mountain town, "Gezhi," against a surprise attack by Japanese reconnaissance troops in a desperate fight using civilian ingenuity against a trained military force.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCast a Giant Shadow (1966)
An American Army officer is recruited by the yet to exist Israel to help them form an army. He is disturbed by this sudden appeal to his Jewish heritage. Each of Israel's Arab neighbors has vowed to invade the poorly prepared country as soon as partition is granted. He is made commander of the Israeli forces just before the war begins.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe One That Got Away (1957)
Based on the true story of Oberleutnant Franz von Werra, the only German prisoner of war captured in Britain to escape back to Germany during the Second World War.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLegends of the Condor Heroes: The Gallants (2025)
Under Genghis Khan, the Mongolian army pushes west to destroy the Jin Dynasty, setting its sights on the Song Dynasty next. Amid internal conflicts among martial arts schools, Guo Jing unites the Central Plains' warriors to defend Xiangyang, embodying courage and loyalty in the fight for the nation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWaiting for Anya (2020)
During the harrows of WWII, Jo, a young shepherd along with the help of the widow Horcada, helps to smuggle Jewish children across the border from southern France into Spain.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell (1955)
A dramatization of the American general and his court martial for publically complaining about High Command's dismissal and neglect of the aerial fighting forces.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy People, My Country (2019)
Anthology of short films directed by several different directors.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA City of Sadness (1989)
The story of a family embroiled in the "White Terror," the Kuomintang government's anti-communist political repression that was wrought on the Taiwanese people from 1947-1987.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Banquet (2006)
Crown Prince Wu Luan is in love with Little Wan but left heartbroken when she marries his father, the emperor. The emperor's brother, Li, kills him and Wu Luan tries to avenge his father's death.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChang'an (2023)
A few years after the Anshi Rebellion, Tang dynasty military commander Gao Shi suffers a defeat in a battle threatening Chang'an. Trapped in the besieged city, he recalls his lifelong friendship with the acclaimed poet Li Bai.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMr. Turner (2014)
Eccentric British painter J.M.W. Turner lives his last 25 years with gusto and secretly becomes involved with a seaside landlady, while his faithful housekeeper bears an unrequited love for him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHero (2002)
During China's Warring States period, a district prefect arrives at the palace of Qin Shi Huang, claiming to have killed the three assassins who had made an attempt on the king's life three years ago.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBilal: A New Breed of Hero (2016)
A thousand years ago, one boy with a dream of becoming a great warrior is abducted with his sister and taken to a land far away from home. Thrown into a world where greed and injustice rule all, Bilal finds the courage to raise his voice and make a change. Inspired by true events, this is a story of a real hero who earned his remembrance in time and history.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMunich - The Edge of War (2021)
At the tense 1938 Munich Conference, former friends who now work for opposing governments become reluctant spies racing to expose a Nazi secret.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSangokushi: The Yangtze Is Burning! (1993)
Covering roughly 13 years, from Cao Cao's victory over Lu Bu in 198 CE, through the Battle of Red Cliffs in 208 CE, and the aftermath up until 211 BCE. As other players are swept from the board, the story focuses on Liu Bei and his increasingly desperate attempts to prevent Cao Cao from seizing all of China. The turning point is Liu Bei's recruitment of the best strategic mind of that generation, Zhuge Kongming, the Crouching Dragon.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation & war
Sangokushi: The Distant Land (1994)
Third movie of the Sangokushi animated film trilogy. The movie covers the longest time span of the three films, from Liu Bei's expedition to Shu in 211 CE to the death of Kongming in 234 CE.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation & war
Great Conquest: The Romance of Three Kingdoms (1992)
Begins during the Yellow Turban rebellion that initiated the downfall of the Han dynasty. Liu Bei is striving to find a way to bring order to a chaotic world. He befriends Zhang Fei and Guan Yu. They take the Oath of the Peach Garden, to live and die together as warriors for justice. Cao Cao (eventual antagonist) ponders how to fulfill his destiny as "a hero in a chaotic world or a villain in a peaceful one." English dub version cuts out 18 minutes of the film.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation & history
Romance of the Three Kingdoms (1985)
Sangokushi is set in the waning days of the Han dynasty. Central rule has disintegrated, and the land is controlled by multiple warlords. Liu Bei Xuande is a warrior who aspires to build a just state and to serve the people.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both history & war
The Lost Bladesman (2011)
During the warring period of the three kingdoms, ancient China is in turmoil. To unify the country, general Cao Cao, the real power behind the Emperor, enlists the aid of the greatest warrior in the land, Guan Yu. However, Guan Yu is a loyal friend of Cao Cao's enemy Liu Bei so to persuade the peerless warrior to fight, Cao Cao takes his beloved Qi Lan hostage. After leading Cao Cao's forces to victory Guan Yu sets out with Qi Lan to rejoin Liu Bei. Now Cao Cao has deemed him too great a threat to live, and on the journey he must face all the forces at the Emperor's command sent to destroy him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both history & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGreen Dragon Crescent Blade (2022)
Guan Xing trains with all his might in order to retrieve the Green Dragon Crescent Blade. He finds Pan Zhang, the killer of his father, and they begin to fight at the water dam. So, who will get the Green Dragon Crescent Blade in the end?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both history & war
Red Cliff (2008)
In 208 A.D., in the final days of the Han Dynasty, shrewd Prime Minster Cao convinced the fickle Emperor Han the only way to unite all of China was to declare war on the kingdoms of Xu in the west and East Wu in the south. Thus began a military campaign of unprecedented scale. Left with no other hope for survival, the kingdoms of Xu and East Wu formed an unlikely alliance.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both history & war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRed Cliff II (2009)
The battle of Red Cliff continues and the alliance between Xu and East Wu is fracturing. With Cao Cao's massive forces on their doorstep, will the kingdoms of Xu and East Wu survive?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both history & war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThree Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon (2008)
The aging Zhao embarks on his final and greatest campaign, a road to adventure that will crown his name in glory for all time.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both history & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThree Kingdoms: The Beginning (2026)
Toward the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, amid nationwide unrest, Cao Cao and Yuan Shao sought to enlist General-in-Chief He Jin’s support to check the power of the eunuchs and restore the Han Dynasty to its rightful order. Unexpectedly, Dong Zhuo seized the chaos to march his troops into the capital, plotting to dethrone the reigning emperor and install a new one.Swept up in the torrential tide of troubled times, a host of warlords emerged one after another: Yuan Shu, Lü Bu, Sun Jian, as well as Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. Turmoil engulfed Luoyang, and the fate of the great Han Empire stood at a crossroads…
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation & history
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Three Kingdoms: Starlit Heroes?
The closest matches to Three Kingdoms: Starlit Heroes are Ethel & Ernest (2016), The Scarlet and the Black (1983) and Youth (2017). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Three Kingdoms: Starlit Heroes?
Start with Ethel & Ernest (2016), the closest match to Three Kingdoms: Starlit Heroes.
What is the highest-rated movie like Three Kingdoms: Starlit Heroes?
Hero (2002), rated 7.5/10 by 2,643 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Three Kingdoms: Starlit Heroes?
Three Kingdoms: The Beginning (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Chinese movies like Three Kingdoms: Starlit Heroes?
Yes: Youth (2017), Gezhi Town (2025) and Legends of the Condor Heroes: The Gallants (2025).
How are movies similar to Three Kingdoms: Starlit Heroes chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Three Kingdoms: Starlit Heroes, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.